After everyone left, the whole house became silent once again.
The ticking sound of the clock hanging on the wall and the soft wind blowing outside… those were the only sounds that could be heard.
Ren slowly walked toward Aiko’s room.
The moment he opened the door, his breathing stopped for a few seconds.
The room was still exactly the same…
The small plant table near the window, the neatly arranged bedsheet, and the unfinished perfume bottle placed on the dressing table.
It felt as if Aiko would walk into the room at any moment and smile while saying—
“What are you staring at for so long?”
Ren’s eyes became moist.
He slowly looked around at everything in the room, as if he could still feel Aiko’s presence within those things.
Then his eyes stopped at an old box placed on top of the wardrobe.
He carefully brought the box down.
As soon as he wiped away the thin layer of dust and opened it, he found Aiko’s belongings inside—some old photos, small accessories… and two diaries.
With trembling hands, Ren opened the first diary.
On the very first page, Aiko’s handwriting was written neatly.
“Some memories never leave us…”
The diary contained stories from her school life.
She had written about a boy in her class whom she had a crush on.
After gathering all her courage, she finally went to confess her feelings to him one day…
But at that very moment, she found out that the boy was already in a relationship with her own best friend.
That day, she was completely heartbroken.
On the next page, she had written—
“That day, I realized for the first time… the sound of a broken heart can’t be heard outside.”
After that, she went to sit near the school football ground while crying.
At the same time, football practice was going on there.
And then…
A fast football suddenly came flying and hit her directly on the head.
Darkness covered her vision, and she collapsed unconscious on the spot.
When she regained consciousness, she found herself inside the school hospital room.
Standing in front of her was a boy—the school topper.
A calm face… nervous eyes… and the same boy who would later become her entire world.
Ren.
The moment Aiko saw him, she immediately stood up in anger, slapped him hard across the face, and walked away without saying a single word.
A small smile appeared on Ren’s lips while reading the diary.
Perhaps he remembered that day as well.
Then he started looking through the photos kept inside the box.
One photo showed Ren, Aiko, and their group of friends together.
Both of them were standing side by side… though perhaps neither of them knew back then how deeply connected their story would become one day.
Then came the wedding photos…
Their smiles looked so genuine, as if no one in the world could be happier than them.
And finally…
One last photo.
Aiko was standing near the window.
A soft smile rested on her face, and she was pregnant.
At that moment, she looked unbelievably beautiful.
Ren held the photo with trembling hands and stared at it for a long time.
A tear slowly fell from his eyes onto the picture.
Once again, silence filled the room…
But this time, that silence carried the pain of memories.
As Ren continued reading the next pages of the diary, the faint smile on his face slowly disappeared.
Aiko’s handwriting no longer felt light and cheerful.
Fear and pain could clearly be felt in her words.
She had written that there was a gang of boys in their school.
They secretly installed hidden cameras inside the girls’ washrooms and recorded videos without permission.
After that, they used those videos to threaten and blackmail several students.
The diary said—
“Many girls stayed silent out of fear… Because they thought that if the truth came out, people would blame them instead.”
Aiko further wrote that one day, she herself also became their victim.
But unlike everyone else, she chose to raise her voice against them instead of staying silent.
She filed complaints to both the school director and the police.
While reading the diary, Ren slowly became more serious.
Aiko had written—
“I thought they would receive severe punishment… But in front of money and power, the truth became too small.”
Those boys were only suspended for one month.
That was all.
No major action…
No arrests.
After that incident, several girls even stopped coming to school completely.
The final sentence on that page was written with trembling handwriting—
“Some people are monsters hiding behind human faces…”
After reading that much, Ren slowly closed the diary.
Confusion and anger were clearly visible in his eyes.
In a low voice, he muttered to himself—
“Why did nobody ever tell me about this…?
Not Aiko… and not anyone else…”
The silence in the room suddenly felt much heavier than before.
Taking a deep breath, Ren opened the next page of the diary.
This time, Aiko’s handwriting felt softer and far more emotional…
As if she was speaking directly to him through every word.
“Ran… when will you come back?
Nothing feels good without you…”
Ren’s eyes stopped on that line.
The diary continued—
“Baby girl misses you a lot too.
She keeps troubling me all day… just like you.”
A painful yet gentle smile appeared on Ren’s face after reading those words.
But the very next moment…
That smile slowly disappeared.
Aiko had written—
“Ran… if something ever happens to me… then never become that person again… the one you became that day.”
Ren’s eyes suddenly turned serious.
As if an old memory had returned to his mind once again.
In the final part of the diary, Aiko wrote—
“Promise me… You’ll stay happy.
You’ll take care of my family.
And you won’t lose yourself in the darkness…”
“Promise me… Ran.”
Ren silently stared at the page for a long time.
The room was completely quiet…
But inside him, it felt as if thousands of voices were screaming at once.
His fists slowly tightened… and then loosened a few moments later.
It looked like he was trying to stop a battle raging within himself.
After some time, he gently closed the diary.
His eyes moved toward Aiko’s photo in front of him.
Looking at the picture, Ren quietly whispered—
“You wanted me to stay happy… didn’t you?”
His eyes became slightly wet.
“And to take care of your family…”
After a few moments of silence, he took a deep breath.
“Alright, Aiko… From tomorrow onward, I’ll start a new life.”
Just then, the sound of the front door opening echoed from downstairs.
Perhaps Shinji Tanaka, Keiko Tanaka, and Ami had returned.
Ren took a deep breath and slowly placed the diaries back inside the box.
Some time later, everyone was sitting together at the dining table.
Food was placed on the table…
But the silence inside the house still remained the same.
Keiko occasionally forced herself to smile.
Shinji quietly ate his meal.
And Ami simply kept looking downward.
Ren silently observed all of them.
Suddenly, Aiko’s final wish echoed in his mind—
“Take care of my family…”
Thinking about that, he slowly clenched his fist.
After dinner, everyone returned to their own rooms.
One by one, the lights of the house started turning off.
And within a short while…
The entire house once again drowned in silence.
But this time…
Many hidden secrets were buried beneath that silence.
CHAPTER 2 END
© 2026 Rocky Aryan.
All Rights Reserved.
“Sometimes a person leaves… but their laughter, their words, and their little habits always stay around us.
Memories may bring pain… but those same memories also keep us from breaking apart.”